About Aid Watch
The Aid Watch blog is a project of New York University's Development Research Institute (DRI). This blog is principally written by William Easterly, author of "The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics" and "The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good," and Professor of Economics at NYU. It is co-written by Laura Freschi and by occasional guest bloggers. Our work is based on the idea that more aid will reach the poor the more people are watching aid.
"Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking." - H.L. Mencken
Recent Comments
- Rukmini on Aid Watch blog ends; New work on development begins : This has been a valuable resource for me and I’m sorry to see it...
- Jesse on From Hell to Prosperity: I would like to see this graph with a comparative one which shows the number of people in each religion...
- Ellie on Aid Watch blog ends; New work on development begins : Sad to see you go, but I certainly respect the decision. Hope it is...
- Vivek Nemana on From Hell to Prosperity: Jeff, Well, the billionaire effect might explain a disproportionately high mean income, but...
- M on Aid Watch blog ends; New work on development begins : I agree that Bill and Laura should think about how they can get their message...
- Mr. Econotarian on Are Lax US Gun Laws Spilling Violence into Mexico? : The paper says: “DHS data gives the number of illegal...
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Bill Easterly tweets
- RT @tkb: @meighanstone @bill_easterly @viewfromthecave Thanks from @worldbankdata team! http://t.co/aD4zp3Px & http://t.co/6APTLA7D ... about 7 hours ago from Twittelator ReplyRetweetFavorite
- RT @meighanstone: @bill_easterly @WorldBank @viewfromthecave you should be singing praises of @tkb and his team then (upstart World Bank ... about 7 hours ago from Twittelator ReplyRetweetFavorite
- Praise the @WorldBank! (for data visualization) http://t.co/ri7CvwdZ HT @viewfromthecave about 7 hours ago from Twittelator ReplyRetweetFavorite
- RT @lustrefound: New idea for Sandel: Writers as public intellectuals replaced by economists. RIP Carlos Fuentes. http://t.co/Zkpq1Shj h ... about 10 hours ago from Twittelator ReplyRetweetFavorite
Aid Watch tweets
- RT @viewfromthecave Healthy Dose top story: UNDP to Africa, End Hunger to Ensure Growth http://t.co/6b1tghMg about 9 hours ago from web ReplyRetweetFavorite
- RT @bill_easterly Leonardo DiCaprio's coffee has a remarkable effect on development. We're just a bit fuzzy on how. http://t.co/ITkKtwVG 08:08:48 PM May 15, 2012 from TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite
- RT @NatalieNYT Study points to the complexities of giving & measuring the impact of charity http://t.co/zjZCCxth 06:25:03 PM May 15, 2012 from TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite
- “Poverty: The audacity of hope” @TheEconomist describes an RCT by Esther Duflo http://t.co/ahFAljgc 05:23:35 PM May 15, 2012 from web ReplyRetweetFavorite
Tag Archives: Egypt
A tragic sexual assault becomes pretext to insult both women and Muslims
Update Sunday 2/20/2010: good stories in NYT today: Reporting While Female and Why We Need Women in War Zones
One of my favorite blogs, the awesome Wronging Rights, does the definitive take on the Lara Logan story, a CBS reporter who was sexually assaulted on one of the violent days during the Egypt uprising:
The internet, it appeared, was largely in agreement: what happened to Logan was terrible, but hardly surprising
…
Posted in Human rights, In the news, Women and gender Also tagged CBS, Lara Logan, New York Times, Tahrir Square, Wronging Rights 11 Comments
Abraham Lincoln in Egypt
Today the doubts begin on whether there will be a happy democratic outcome in Egypt. There are no guarantees.
Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. His most famous words also addressed doubts about democracy. Could American democracy survive a civil war? Could it make a transition from half slave and half free to emancipation?
our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are
…
Posted in Democracy and freedom, History, Human rights, In the news Also tagged Abraham Lincoln 4 Comments
Liberated Egyptians: you’re welcome!
Clive Crook’s blog notes the following story from Politico:
the Obama administration finally notched a foreign policy victory with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s decision to resign and turn over power to top military officials…
“Great news for the administration/president,” said one senior Democratic official who asked not to be named. “People will remember, despite some fumbles yesterday, that the President played an excellent hand, walked the right line and that his statement last night
…
Egypt is Free!
That is what the people in the streets are chanting as the seismic news of Hosni Mubarak’s resignation spreads.
I have goosebumps. Regardless of what the future holds, this is a historic moment. This is a moment to celebrate the remarkable achievement of ordinary multitudes of Egyptians who wanted their inalienable rights, that all individuals are born free and equal.
To close with the words of the Arab poet Abul-Qasim al-Shabi (1909-1934) (previously quoted…
Posted in Democracy and freedom, Human rights, In the news 30 Comments
Mubarak attempts to placate Democratic Revolution with a Committee
What a heartbreaking disappointment with the Mubarak speech…
The language is remarkably paternalistic. And he repeatedly uses jargon like “framework” and “transition”. He promised to implement some recommendations of some Committee.
This guy has obviously spent way too much time in Aid Donor Consultative Group Meetings. This speech disqualifies him as someone able to lead Egypt, but he would be a perfect fit for UN Undersecretary for Sustainable Social Empowerment Agenda Mainstreaming Transition Framework.
The jokes are out…
Posted in Democracy and freedom, In the news 5 Comments
Breaking news: US government to replace head of Egypt Province?
Many news outlets reporting that Mubarak is about to resign. Too soon to tell whether this is definite, who the replacement will be, and what it means for the pro-democracy movement in Egypt.
I do know already I would have wished that the news was not broken to the world by the director of the CIA:
C.I.A. Director Leon E. Panetta said that there was a “strong likelihood” that Mr. Mubarak would step down
…
Posted in In the news 10 Comments
How Ignorance dooms Autocracy
| Tier | Type of knowledge | Recommended actions | System | Compatible with autocracy? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | Certainty (known knowns) | Just do it | Administration | Yes |
| (2) | Probability (known unknowns) | Hypothesis testing | Academic freedom | Temporarily Yes, eventually No |
| (3) | Ignorance (unknown unknowns) | Decentralized feedback and accountability | Individual liberty | No |
Can US politicians please shut up and do nothing on Egypt?
Clive Crook in the Financial Times on Monday:
The US need to come to terms with its impotence at times such as this, and so does everybody else….
In Egypt and throughout the Middle East, the west is seen (not without reason) as a cultural and political oppressor….The US would most likely discredit whatever pro-democracy factions it moved to support. Again, give timidity its due.
The Obama administration {wants} to steer Egypt to stability, prosperity,
…
Posted in Democracy and freedom, In the news 13 Comments
The US has put its boot on the scale
by Natasha Iskander, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, NYU. 10:42 pm Saturday February 5. Professor Iskander is Egyptian-American and works on development in the Middle East and North Africa.
The millions of protestors have been clear: “The people want the fall of the regime! Mubarak leave!” The responses of the US to unambiguous calls from the Egyptian people for the right to determine their own future have not only been deeply condescending, but also represent a…